The Best Places On The Planet To See The Stars

At some point in our lives we’ve all looked up to the skies at night in amazement at the universe out there, there is something incredible about the stars and beyond and the mystery of space that we as humans are drawn to.

Have you ever been to a new place that is remote and not affected by much light pollution and stared in amazement at just how full of stars the sky really is? Well there are some spots on earth that are so remote that you’ll see just about every star possible, where are these places I hear you ask?

Find out here!

The Sahara

The Sahara desert takes up a huge 10% of the continent of Africa and stretches for 3,500,500 square miles.

The Sahara is the hottest desert in the world and this adds to the reason why it is such an incredible place to see the stars.

The extremely hot and dry environment here in the Sahara mean that there is rarely cloud covering the night sky and its remote location away from pretty much all civilisation means there is no light pollution distracting from the views.

La Palma, Canary Islands

La Palma is a volcanic island that lies in Spain’s Canary Islands archipelago, aswel as being a popular holiday destination is also attracts astro-tourists because of the astonishingly clear skies that it boosts.

Back in 2002 the entire island of La Palma was named a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve which means they are recognised on an international level for the exceptional conditions in which to observe the stars.

The Empty Quarter, Arabian Peninsula

Another one of the largest continuous deserts in the world is the aptly names Empty Quarter which makes up part of the Arabian Peninsula.

Covering 250,000 square miles, this is likely the hottest, driest, most inhospitable place on earth.

Seeing very little rainfall, it is an arid wilderness with the only signs of life being the occasional bird or camel carcass.

As uninviting as this sounds, it makes for an absolutely perfect spot to see the stars.

Connemara, Ireland

Connemara is one of the most western parts in Europe and is famous for its unspoiled nature and historical heritage.

Since the skies here are very clear from urban lights it is a perfect spot to see the stars and a popular one for astronomers from all over the planet.

A certain times of the year you’ll find guided star gazing sessions which you can book onto if you want to learn more about what you are seeing.

Namibia

The Namibia desert in Africa is home to a growing industry in astro-tourism.

The desert has extremely dry weather and pristine skies perfect to see the starts with a 360-degree panorama of the horizon.

One of the best venues for star gazing in Namibia is the Gamsberg which closely resembles Table Mountian in South Africa.

The Gamsberg is one of the top venues to see the starts throughout the whole of the southern hemisphere.

Geographically the Gamsberg forms the highest elevation of the Great Escarpment in the north – south direction between the highland and the Namib Desert and because of its location about 135 km away from the capital Windhoek and right next to the Hakos Mountains, there is no light pollution to spoil the incredible view.

Himalayas

The crystal clear skies of high hiking treks and Himalayan villages are among the some of the world’s best spots to see the stars.

The Himalayan mountain range is located in Asia and is the world’s highest. It includes the famous Mount Everest, the worlds tallest mountain standing at over 8,850m above sea level.

Atacama Desert, Chilie

The world’s most arid desert is located in Chile and also small parts of Peru, Bolivia and Argentina.

The Atacama Desert is an amazing place to see the stars because it is so dry the night sky is totally clear. It is also home to several astronomical observatories and as you walk the desert the landscape feels a little like being on another planet; scattered with rocks and boulders and pale red dust.